HOUSTON — From his position behind home plate, J.T. Realmuto thought the game was over and that his team had lost the opener of the 2022 World Series.
The score was tied, it was the bottom of the ninth inning and Jeremy Peña, the rookie shortstop for the Houston Astros, had lifted a fly ball to shallow right field. With two outs, Jose Altuve, the Astros’ veteran second baseman, had taken off from second at the moment Peña’s bat made contact with the ball, and was barreling toward home plate, ready to score the winning run.
The fans rose in anticipation, shouting and screaming for the ball to drop safely, which would have allowed Altuve to score and would have kept Houston’s postseason unbeaten streak alive.
“I thought the game was over,” Realmuto said. “But then I saw him charging in, coming in hot, and I thought, ‘Oh, man, he might have a chance to catch that.’”
Realmuto was referring to Nick Castellanos, the Phillies right fielder, who ran about 70 feet and made a sliding catch for the final out of the inning, preventing Altuve from scoring. Castellanos slid on his back and spun around before coming to a stop. He rested a moment to take in the gravity of the moment.
The catch kept the game alive and Realmuto homered to lead off the 10th, giving the Phillies a 6-5 win in Game 1 of the World Series.
“That was the second or third really, really clutch play he’s made for us in the outfield this postseason already, that have won us baseball games,” Realmuto said. “That play was huge. You can’t say enough about it.”
The game-saving catch was remarkably similar to a grab Castellanos made in Game 1 of Philadelphia’s division series against the Atlanta Braves earlier this month. That catch was also in the ninth inning, also on the road, and helped preserve a 7-6 victory — although it came with nobody on base and only one out. But visually, it was quite close.
“I’ve had a couple people say that they seemed like a carbon copy of each other,” Castellanos said. “But I’m just happy that an out was made and we were able to go on and win both those games.”
While Philadelphia is not known for its defensive acumen, the catch was one of several good defensive plays by the team on Friday. Another came when Alec Bohm, the third baseman, made a very nice play on Martín Maldonado’s deep bouncing ball that ended the sixth inning, with two runners on base with the score tied.
“We played with poise and confidence and very relaxed,” Phillies Manager Rob Thomson said.
Jean Segura, the second baseman, also made a nifty play in the ninth when he caught Realmuto’s laser throw as Altuve stole second base, with Peña at the plate. Altuve was ruled safe, but Segura had been able to catch the ball despite it hitting Altuve’s leg on a very close play.
Once Altuve was at second, it changed tactics for the outfielders. With two outs, Altuve would be able to score on an single, so Castellanos moved in. Those few steps probably made the difference in the game.
“That was just what my instincts told me to do,” Castellanos said. “I just thought he had a better chance of trying to bloop something in there, than torching something over my head. That was kind of my thought process there, just thought of it on the fly.”
Castellanos got an excellent running start on the ball, honed in on it, and as it fell, he slid on his knees, catching it with his left arm outstretched. Rhys Hoskins, the first baseman, raised both arms in celebration as he watched, and Kyle Tucker, Castellanos’s right field counterpart on the Astros, grudgingly admired the play.
“It saved the game,” Tucker said. “It really won the game.”
Scott Miller contributed reporting.